But it proved too much for the New York Times, which began its article about Yvonne Brill, a pioneer of rocket propulsion, with a tribute to her cooking skills.

"She made a mean beef stroganoff, followed her husband from job to job and took eight years off from work to raise three children. 'The world's best mom,' her son Matthew said," the obituary began.

US President Barack Obama awards the National Medal of Technology to Yvonne Brill in Washington in October 2011. Photo: Getty Images

Within hours the article had provoked a storm on Twitter, where users complained that no male scientist would ever be discussed in terms of his spouse or his cooking.

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"Toasting a late rocket scientist for her kitchen skills makes my head lean into my desk," wrote one user.

Margaret Sullivan, the New York Times's public editor, said she agreed with the criticism and the article was later discreetly changed, substituting the stroganoff reference for "a brilliant rocket scientist".

Unusually, the paper appeared not to make any public note that the article had been changed as it usually does with corrections or amendments.

Mrs Brill, who died aged 88, developed a thruster widely used for positioning satellites in orbit above the earth.

She stepped back from full-time work in the 1950s to raise her three children but then returned in 1966 and her greatest achievements came in the later part of her career.

Mrs Brill worked briefly for NASA in the early 1980s and in 2011 was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House.